This invention relates to flap arrangements for motor vehicles and, in particular, flap arrangements for the flap of a fuel tank cover or for a hatchback.
Manually actuatable flaps on motor vehicle bodies provided with an actuation access are known. An actuation access for a tank cover may include a bulge on the outside of the cover under which the operator can insert a finger to open the tank cover. It is also known to provide a trough in the vehicle body next to the tank cover to permit engagement of the cover to open it. The combination of a bulge on the tank cover and a trough in the adjacent body portion is also known. It is likewise known that a tank cover can be provided with a recess through which an operator can insert a finger to raise the cover.
German Offenlengungsschrift No. 39 40 016 discloses a flap in the form of a liftable rear cover, i.e. a hatchback, arranged on a motor vehicle body and having at least one lamp with a light-transmissive diffuser in which the diffuser includes at least one grip portion recessed below its surface or projecting beyond it for raising the flap. Thus, the light diffuser includes either a trough or a ledge to provide access for lifting the flap. This lifting member is formed directly on the diffuser which is mounted on the flap, providing a one-piece configuration which avoids any increase in cost. The lifting member may be located along the lower edge of the diffuser. By a suitable application of force to the lifting member, the hatchback flap may be swung up and down for opening or closing .
Especially in the case of compact vehicles, a mechanical arrangement for assisting operation of a manually engageable lifting member on a motor vehicle body may be difficult to provide because of a lack of space in the adjacent vehicle body.